The Pixel 8 Professional is Google’s newest top-end telephone, packing a brand new processor, a brighter show and higher cameras than its predecessor. However it faces stiff competitors from two different handsets that dominate the premium smartphone market: the iPhone 15 Professional Max and the Samsung Galaxy S23 Extremely. How do they actually evaluate?
The Pixel 8 Professional runs on the brand new Tensor G3 chipset, the third technology in a line of silicon Google has designed to reinforce its on-device AI processing. Tensor chipsets aren’t fairly as a lot of a efficiency powerhouse in benchmarks like Geekbench because the A17 Professional chip within the iPhone 15 Professional Max or the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip within the Galaxy S23 Extremely. We’ll have to attend till we are able to totally check the Pixel 8 Professional to see the way it performs in contrast with the others.
However the Tensor chipset does allow most of the Pixel household’s neat media-editing methods, like Magic Eraser for taking components out of photographs, Audio Magic Eraser for diminishing background noise, and Finest Take for combining the most effective bits of a burst of photographs. These are the flashiest software program benefits the Pixel 8 Professional holds over the competitors (amongst others), though Magic Eraser is technically out there for different telephones by way of the Google Pictures app.
Apple’s iPhone 15 Professional Max.
Patrick Holland/CNET
The opposite large benefit the Pixel 8 Professional holds is a assure of seven years of Android working system and safety updates. That is excess of Samsung telephones just like the Galaxy S23 Extremely’s 4 years of OS updates and 5 years of safety updates. And Apple is unclear about how lengthy telephones shall be supported — the just-released iOS 17 replace, for example, leaves behind the iPhone 8 and iPhone X, each launched in 2017, so 5 years of OS updates is the low-end estimate for a brand new iPhone.
The Pixel 8 Professional’s rear digital camera {hardware} features a 50-megapixel important shooter, a 48-megapixel ultrawide and a 48-megapixel telephoto able to 5x optical zoom. On paper, these cameras will probably produce sharper photographs than the 12-megapixel ultrawide and 12-megapixel telephoto cameras on the iPhone 15 Professional Max, although we’ll have to check to match it to Apple’s distinctive “tetraprism” expertise in its zoom digital camera (the iPhone’s 48-megapixel important digital camera could also be roughly akin to the Pixel 8 Professional’s important shooter).
So far as rear cameras go, the Pixel 8 Professional may face the largest problem from the Galaxy S23 Extremely, which has a 200-megapixel important digital camera. Whereas it has solely a 12-megapixel ultrawide digital camera, Samsung’s top-of-the-line telephone has two telephoto cameras: a 10-megapixel 3x optical zoom and a 10-megapixel 10x optical zoom, which is able to as much as 100x digital zoom. However with the telephone’s beginning value of $1,200, these souped-up digital camera specs make sense contemplating the Pixel 8 Professional’s $1,000 beginning worth and the iPhone 15 Professional Max’s $1,100 price ticket.
All three telephones have fairly related selfie cameras: the Pixel 8 Professional has a ten.5-megapixel selfie shooter, whereas the iPhone 15 Professional Max and the Galaxy S23 Extremely each have 12-megapixel front-facing cameras.
Samsung’s Galaxy S23 Extremely.
Lisa Eadicicco/CNET
Relating to design, the three telephones have very totally different appears. The Pixel 8 Professional retains its predecessor’s broad horizontal digital camera block spanning the width of the telephone. A metallic stripe wraps across the telephone’s three rear cameras, with a flash and new temperature sensor on the precise facet (for checking meals and, pending FDA approval, your personal pores and skin). The remainder of the telephone’s rear cowl is a matte glass, and its sides are rounded.
The iPhone 15 Professional Max has its predecessor’s flat sides and sq. digital camera block, with lenses which can be bigger and stick out farther than these of earlier iPhones. The Galaxy S23 Extremely is the bodily largest of the bunch, although its design has tended towards minimalism, with simply the 5 cameras coming out of the undecorated again cowl (i.e. no large digital camera block), in addition to rounded sides.
The Pixel 8 Professional’s 6.7-inch OLED show (3,120×1,440 pixels) is identical measurement as its predecessor’s, however it’s brighter, maxing out at 2,400 nits with a 1 to 120Hz refresh charge. It has a barely sharper decision than the iPhone 15 Professional Max’s 6.7-inch OLED (2,796x 1,290-pixel) display, and it is on par with the Galaxy S23 Extremely’s 6.8-inch AMOLED (3,088×1,440-pixel) show (each Apple’s and Samsung’s telephones have 120Hz adaptive refresh charges).
The telephones are additionally fairly related by way of different {hardware} specs. The Pixel 8 Professional comes with 12GB of RAM and 128GB to 1TB of storage. Apple by no means specifies the quantity of reminiscence in its telephones, although GSMArena says the iPhone 15 Professional Max has 8GB, and the telephone comes with 256GB, 512GB or 1TB of storage. The Galaxy S23 Extremely begins with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, however it will also be configured for 12GB of RAM and 256GB, 512GB or 1TB of storage. Not one of the three has a slot for expandable storage, so you may should retailer your further recordsdata within the cloud or hook up an exterior SSD.
Equally, Apple would not disclose battery capability on its telephones, saying solely that it will get as much as 29 hours of video playback (in different phrases, it ought to final all day with no need to recharge). The Pixel 8 Professional has a 5,050mAh battery, whereas the Galaxy S23’s battery has a capability of 5,000mAh.
In a primary for Apple, the iPhone 15 Professional Max has a USB-C port as a substitute of its Lightning connector and has 25 watts of wired charging in addition to 15 watts of wi-fi charging. The Pixel 8 Professional has as much as 30 watts of wired charging and 23 watts of wi-fi, whereas the Galaxy S23 Extremely has the quickest pace, with 45 watts of wired charging and 15 watts of wi-fi.
To see how else the Pixel 8 Professional stacks up in opposition to the iPhone 15 Professional Max and the Galaxy S23 Extremely, we have positioned every telephone into this side-by-side comparability chart:
Google Pixel 8 Professional vs. iPhone 15 Professional Max vs. Samsung Galaxy S23 Extremely
Google Pixel 8 ProApple iPhone 15 Professional MaxSamsung Galaxy S23 UltraDisplay measurement, tech, decision, refresh charge, brightness 6.7-inch OLED; 3,120×1,440 pixels; 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate6.7-inch OLED; 2,796×1,290 pixels; 120Hz adaptive refresh rate6.8-inch AMOLED; 3,088×1,440 pixels; 120Hz adaptive refresh ratePixel density 489 ppi460 ppi500 ppiDimensions (inches) 6.4x3x0.3 inches6.29×3.02×0.32 inches6.43×3.07×0.35 inchesDimensions (millimeters) 162.6×76.5×8.8 millimeters159.9×76.7×8.25 millimeters163.3x78x8.9 millimetersWeight (grams, ounces) 213 g (7.5 oz)221 g (7.81 oz)234 g (8.25 oz)Cellular software program Android 14iOS 17Android 13Camera 50-megapixel (broad), 48-megapixel (ultrawide), 48-megapixel (telephoto)48-megapixel (broad), 12-megapixel (ultrawide), 12-megapixel (5x telephoto)200-megapixel (broad), 12-megapixel (ultrawide), 10-megapixel (3x telephoto), 10-megapixel (10x telephoto)Entrance-facing digital camera 10.5 megapixels12 megapixels12 megapixels Video seize 4K4K8KProcessor Google Tensor G3A17 ProQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for GalaxyRAM/storage 12GB RAM + 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB256GB, 512GB, 1TB (RAM undisclosed)8GB + 256GB; 12GB + 256GB; 12GB + 512GB; 12GB + 1TB Expandable storage
NoneNoneBattery 5,050 mAhUndisclosed; Apple says as much as 29 hours of video playback (25 hours streamed)5,000 mAhFingerprint sensor Below displayNone (Face ID)Below displayConnector USB-CUSB-CUSB-CHeadphone jack NoneNoneNoneSpecial options 5G (Sub 6 and mmWave); VPN by Google One; 7 years of OS, safety and Function Drop updates; front-facing digital camera has autofocus; 13W Qi wi-fi charging; 30W wired charging; USB-3.2 speeds through USB-C; IP68 mud and water resistance; Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on entrance and back5G (Sub6, mmWave), Motion Button, All the time-On show, IP68 waterproof, MagSafe, Dynamic Island, 5x optical zoom (120mm equal), satellite tv for pc connectivity, eSIM, thread networking technology5G (Sub6, mmWave), IP68 waterproof, wi-fi PowerShare to cost different gadgets, built-in S Pen, 100x House Zoom, 10x optical zoom, UWB for locating different gadgets, 45W wired chargingUS worth off-contract $999 (128GB)$1,199 (256GB)$1,200 (256GB)UK worth Converts to £825 (128GB)£1,199 (256GB)£1,249 (256GB)Australia worth Converts to AU$1,575 (128GB)AU$2,199 (256GB)AU$1,949 (256GB)